Page 6 of Run
I want to take that fear away—even if only for a moment. So, I prop my hands back on my hips and, doing a slow twirl, belt out,“She thinks my tractor’s sexyyyy”until I’ve turned all the way around to face her again.
I see a smile trying to peek out between her tightly closed lips.
“Uh, I wasn’t dancing,” Fonz speaks up from behind me. “I don’t even like country music. I’m not that dorky.”
Ari looks over my shoulder at him, then back at me. Turning sideways and opening my arms, I gesture for her to come into the garage with us. As she shuffles a few unsure steps in, I throw an arm around her shoulder and walk her over to the stool Fonz was previously occupying, and pat it a few times. She takes my hint and scoots up onto it.
“Ari, this is Fonz. Fonz, Ari,” I say as I go back to my bike.
“Nice to meetcha!” Fonz greets Ari in a weird voice. Man, that kid is awkward.
I roll my eyes and turn toward Ari. “Fonz lives down the road. He’s actually kind of fun to be around when he’s not being totally weird.”
“So, where do you live?” he asks Ari, and she just points to the side, toward her house. Fonz nods. “Do you like to ride bikes? Do you have your own bike?”
She doesn’t respond, and I realize that, in her mind, Fonz isn’t considered someone she’s safe around, since she doesn’t know him.
“Fonz has a three-year-old brother and sister. They’re twins,” I say. “Fonz’s dad works for the farmer who owns the fields on the other side of the block. He picks apples in the fall, and harvests the corn.”
Ari nods and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“His mom works in the lunchroom at school. You’ve probably seen her. Mrs. …” I turn back toward Fonz. “What’s your last name?”
“Fuentes,” he answers, tipping the near-empty Doritos bag over his mouth and shaking out the crumbs. He crumples it up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “But the kids at school call her Miss Vida. That’s her first name.”
I see Ari smile. If she’s met Fonz’s mom, then she knows Miss Vida is the sweetest woman on the planet. She’s short and squishy and full of hugs, and she always smells like baked goods. She also has an accent that somehow Fonz doesn’t seem to have.
Ari clears her throat. “Miss Vida sneaks me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when she sees I’ve forgotten to pack my lunch, or when Lena and Papa won’t give me any money.”
I try not to react to Ari speaking, although I do note it’s the first time I’ve heard her use her stepmother’s first name.
“I’ll have to bring you one of her orange-cranberry muffins,” Fonz says. “They are”—he brings his fingers and thumb together on one hand and kisses them—“chef’s kiss!”
“That sounds delicious,” Ari says.
Fonz tosses the balled up chip bag toward the garbage can, and misses. “You got any pop? Those chips make my breath stink like the Prince of the Bog of Eternal Stench.”
“Better than the Goblin King,” Ari replies softly, and I whip my head in her direction.
“You’veseenLabyrinth?”
She shrugs. “Axel has weird taste in movies.”
As I turn back to the bike, men’s dress shoes clack along the front walk, followed by my dad’s voice. “You better not be in here messing up my tools,” a stern command comes through the open garage door. All three of us turn our heads toward the sound.
There he stands. James Walker. Hands in the pockets of his khaki pants, square jaw set, eyes settling on me before bouncing over to Fonz, then to Ari, then back to me.
“Uh, Dad, you remember Fonz?”
Fonz gives him a pathetic two-finger salute, and my dad doesn’t even look at him. “And, uh, this is Ari. She lives next door. I’m sure you’ve seen her around …”
Dad does look at Ari, pulling his brows together. “Axel’s girl,” he says. “I think you shouldn’t be here hanging out with the boys. You should run along home, now.”
As Ari quickly scrambles off the stool, irritation creeps up my spine. “Dad,” I step in front of Ari to slow her. “We’re just trying to fix the chain on my bike. And listening to music. There’s no one else for Ari to hang with.”
Dad huffs out a breath. “Look, I just don’t want any trouble.” He looks at Ari. “Is your dad gonna be upset you’re in here with the boys?”
She looks at me for support, and I nod, so she turns to my dad and shakes her head.
